Turning it around last season is my biggest achievement

It’s quite often the case that we don’t hear from the managers during the quick turn rounds over Christmas but one manager has spoken briefly about his new job this week while the other has looked at what he considers his biggest achievement at Burnley.

Carlo Ancelotti will be in the Everton dug out tomorrow. It will be the first time he’s done so with an English club since May 2011. His last game in charge of Chelsea came on 22nd May 2011 when his side were beaten 1-0 by Everton at Goodison Park. Last Saturday he sat in the stand for the Arsenal game, as did new Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and he was in the Everton team that day in 2011 with both Séamus Coleman and Leighton Baines, who are both still with Everton, playing in that game.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game, Ancelotti explained the injuries and when they could be expected back and then admitted he was looking forward to it. “It is really exciting, like the first day of school,” he said.

“It is a new experience for me. I have received a lot of support in these past days from the club, from the supporters I met at the hotel and in the city but I am really focussed on the game and would like for the team to play fantastic football.

“It is important to know the culture and tradition and history of the club. The fact the atmosphere in the stadium can help the team play better and be stronger. The experience I had from Saturday was the fact the stadium can help you keep a high tempo in the game.”

He added: “I had a good impression of the players, they have trained well. They were focussed. We don’t have a lot of time to get to know each other but the most important thing is to prepare well for the game against Burnley.”

“The atmosphere is good and positive and I hope we are going to play a great game. We are trying to play the best football possible, with a lot of intensity, to be aggressive and try to win the ball early. This is the style of football we want to play. We will try to do this in the game against Burnley. We will have the support of our fans, so I am sure we will play with a lot of intensity. The players are focussed on what we want to do. I am happy today.”

Two promotions, a season that took into Europe, but Sean Dyche selected none of those when he was asked what his finest hour was as Burnley manager.

He said: “Everyone would probably see the fact we finished seventh and got into the Europa League as being my best time as manager. Not so much Burnley fans, who I think enjoyed the promotion, but I think generally people will see that as a big success, which is was.

“But turning it around last season, which obviously wasn’t just me because the players have been magnificent along with my staff, is definitely my biggest achievement as a manager. It involves a whole group of people to make that happen. It’s gone now but that is something I will reflect on – and already do, as being my biggest achievement.”

He continued: “The hardest thing is when people clamber for you to change everything and sometimes it’s hard, but the right thing, to change nothing or very little. We stuck to our guns last season and we found a way of the team operating, reminded them of the simplicity of how we operate and delivered a very strong turn around, both in performances, which I thought were very good in the second half of last season, and in goals scored, clean sheets, and points, and that’s a very healthy mixture.”

And so to Everton, the home fixture last season after which things all changed for the better. He’s got Jόhann Berg Guðmundsson back again and Dyche said: “He’s looked sharp in training. I’m delighted he got his 90 minutes in. I’ve spoken to him and he said he felt great One of our staff went down and said he looked good and fit and well.

“It’s another body coming back to full fitness. He’s someone who’s done very well, historically, and then he’s got to fight to his back into the group.”

Dyche is hoping to follow up the last two games with another clean sheet and said: “It’s certainly helpful to get clean sheets. That’s seven this season and it’s not easy to keep clean sheets in the Premier League. After the last game it was mentioned again about there being no shots on target against us in the last two games, which is even more tricky. It’s going to be tricky to carry that on, but clean sheets are an important factor in football and if you can get that right, then you have an increased chanced of being successful.”

He’s also looking forward to coming face to face with the new Everton boss and said: “The big name managers add to the profile of the league. I’ve noticed the change in my time and there’s now a lot more emphasis on the managers than there was before. The level of quality certainly rises when people like him come into it. Even with his fantastic background, a few days is not a long time to change things overall. However, you usually get a response from the players, but without a shadow of a doubt, it’s a different challenge. I don’t know what his remit is and it’s an interesting one, but Carlo must have gone in thinking he can make it a very successful place.”